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Kaizen No Michi – The Path of ImprovementThe kanji for “Kaizen” translates as reform / virtue, or to create change for higher virtue. The process of constant and never ending improvement is the foundation for black belt excellence in all areas of ones life. The process is fairly simple to set up, but takes discipline and planning to make it become a reality.

The first step is to identify what is truly important in your life and then create a written plan of action on how these important goals will be accomplished. As long as you constantly work on these prioritized goals and they are congruent with your personal values, you will eventually reach these goals. Like a journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step, huge accomplishments can be achieved one step at a time.

In order to generate quantum leaps towards the areas you are trying to improve in, it is necessary to identify every action that you are currently doing and then to prioritize them based on their level of importance and which ones create the most significant levels of improvement. The final step in the process is to concentrate on those tasks that produce the best results, and begin handing off or even deleting those tasks that do not help you reach your goals.

The process of eliminating all wasteful actions and behaviors are also important. Some actions tend to bring about tremendous improvements, such as setting aside to 30 minutes to an hour a day in a quiet place reading in your specific field of interest. Another method is to use you time driving as learning time by listening to tapes that help educate or motivate you in a variety of subjects. Simply following these two tactics can accelerate you to the top 10% in your chosen field in as little as two – three years.

In combat, these principles are identical. The strategy of planning on the most effective tactics with minimum risks is the optimum plan of action. Again it is imperative to keep the tactics simple, concentrating on the sure thing, while eliminating any tactics that you are not sure of. Basic movements are constantly improved by eliminating unnecessary or wasteful actions while trying to improve those actions that add power, speed and accuracy.

Kaizen no Michi is the path of constant and never ending improvement. Kaizen no Michi is the foundation of karate-do and all future successes in your life.

The Seven Habits Of Bushido It is not so much what you believe in that matters, it's more the way in which you believe it and proceed to translate that belief into action." *Lin Yutang {1895-1976 Chinese Author}

The Samurai listed seven virtues of bushido, or the way of the warrior. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss each of them and how they apply to the modern warrior and businessman.

The first trait is “gi” or righteousness, justice or morality. Jhoon Rhee says it as “Might For Right” and whether you are talking about combat, running a successful business or having a quality life because of quality relationships, doing “the right thing” is very important. Here are a few examples of doing the right thing.

Practice Intellectual Honesty Realism is a form of intellectual honesty. The realist insists upon seeing the world as it really is, not as he wishes it were. This objectivity, this refusal to engage in self-delusion, is a mark of the true leader. In combat underestimating an opponent is deadly and in business it can bankrupt your company if you make decisions based on faulty information. Personal relationship can be equally destructive if honesty is not one of the key principles.

Don't Trust To Luck Those who exhibit the quality of honesty in themselves, do not trust to luck, hope for miracles, pray for exceptions to basic business principles, expect rewards without working or hope that problems will go away by themselves. These all are examples of self-delusion, of living in a fantasyland. True warriors know that success is totally dependent on themselves and their actions.

See Things As They Are The true warrior insists on seeing things exactly as they are and encourages others to look at life the same way. As a motivational leader, you get the facts, whatever they are. You deal with people honestly and tell them exactly what you perceive to be the truth. This doesn’t mean that you will always be right, but you will always be expressing the truth in the best way you know how. As a senior instructor in the martial arts, or a business person, the most powerful strategy you can ever obtain is to surround yourself with people that you trust that will tell you the truth. I think that is the real power of a mastermind.

Refuse to Make Excuses The opposite of accepting responsibility is making excuses, blaming others and becoming upset, angry and resentful toward people for what they have done to you or not done for you. Honesty starts at home and be truth about who is in charge is a good place to begin.

Principles of Bushido Yu – Courage - Bravery This week we will talk about another of the seven principles of Bushido – Yu, or courage and bravery.

As martial artists we see time and time again the lives of new students change forever as they develop self confidence and over come fear in their lives. This one thing alone has impacted more lives today than probably any other benefit of martial arts training. The ability to learn to overcome fear opens a person up to accomplish all the great things they can, and to live a quality life.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told I had a 90% chance I would not live another 6 months. Well, I did beat those odds and am still kicking and as of right now seem to have no signs of it coming back. The point is, when I asked my doctor what I could do to help him, help me, he said, “Do as much as you can for as long as you can.” I think these are great words for anyone because we are all terminal and the key to life is living a quality life with the time we have. Overcoming fear is a major step in achieving all you want in life and living a quality life.

The acronym for fear has been said to stand for False Evidence Appearing Real, and that is very true. Most of the time what we fear is not real at all, but based on unrealistic opinions and beliefs. Once a person learns to face challenges head on, then that opens the doors for success after success.

The Samurai said it a little different but understood that life was precious and to die for a noble cause was indeed the right path for a warrior. Defending truth and justice is hard and especially in life and death situations. The courage and bravery to stand up against injustice and even being willing to sacrifice one’s life for one’s family or country is the mark of a true warrior and what makes our nation and community strong.

Whether we are talking about the tenacity of warriors of old, or our fighting brothers that are in foreign lands today, let’s hope that our nation is always, “The Home of The Brave.”

Principles of Bushido Benevolence The dictionary describes benevolence as the disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. Since the beginning of recorded history, legends have been written about the martial artists protecting the weak and defending the truth. Not only because this is the right thing to do, but because it is the natural thing to do. Humanity is alive today because warriors stood at the boundaries of their village and protected the others against predators of all kinds. As society grew, so did the responsibility of defending the state, the nation and humanity at large.

Doing the right thing for the right reason and only using your martial arts skills in defense of truth, has been the foundation of some of the core characteristic building that many martial arts schools teach today. It is all about creating good, decent citizens through the perseverance and training of the martial arts.

Charity is also one of those key principles of success, not just because it is a good thing to do, but there is an unwritten law that you get what you give. Donating 10% of your income, time and energy is one of the foundational principles of getting everything you want out of life. As Zig Ziglar says, “You can get anything you want out of life if you help enough people get what they want.”

There is an old saying that when you pick up one end of a stick, you pick up the other. It is imperative that a true warrior looks at each and every one of his or her actions, and have the vision to see the consequences of those actions. When you combine that with the sincere desire to add to the value of human kind and promote happiness, you get a martial artist that indeed walks the walk and talks the talk of a benevolent warrior.

Another aspect of Bushido –
There is an old saying that the stalk of rice that carries the most grain, bows his head the lowest. I think this concept is true in the martial arts as well. The best martial artists I have ever seen are the most humble of all.

It is said you must learn to give respect before you can earn respect. In the martial arts school, we teach the students to show respect by the way they address their seniors and bow to them. We also teach them to respect their junior students by accepting the responsibility of their growth and helping out.

Steeped in martial arts culture, a student should bow to the senior person when he enters the training hall and also when he leaves. This sign of respect is important in that the senior person is in charge of the floor, and needs to know who is still in the training hall and who has left. It is customary to bow to a teacher before and after asking a question, or if being used to demonstrate techniques with – a high honor in most schools.

Again this custom keeps order in a school, and teaches important lessons in respect, but it is also for of self defense. There is an old saying to be close to your friends and be even closer to your enemies. By being respectful to all people at all times, you will definitely reduce the number of enemies and people that may want to harm you. Respect if the ultimate proactive self defense strategy.

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